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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Mayor Bing Opposes the Consent Decree

Mayor Dave Bing issued a statement to the news media a few minutes ago, in which he announced his opposition to the proposed consent decree that Governor Rick Snyder unveiled this morning. His statement, in its entirety, reads as follows.

Mayor Dave Bing

I’m tremendously disappointed that this consent agreement proposed by Governor Snyder does not represent the spirit of partnership needed between the City and the State to resolve the City’s financial challenges. It forfeits the electoral rights of the citizens of Detroit guaranteed by the democratic process.

The Governor has been disingenuous in his recounting of a near deal after our 4 p.m. meeting Friday. After my team and I reviewed the agreement, Andy Dillon was informed, and I, personally, called and spoke with the Governor Monday morning to let him know the proposal was unacceptable. It was the only time he and I spoke after the meeting.

He’s being disingenuous when he says this agreement leaves elected officials in charge of the City. In fact, the proposed, nine-member advisory board selects and “oversees” the functions of the City’s COO, CFO and Human Resources director – not the elected Mayor.

This proposal also circumvents the role and power of the City Council as the legislative body, waives the ability of elected officials to contest any aspect of the agreement, and dismisses the unprecedented effort and concessions made by the City’s labor unions to avoid an economic catastrophe.

And, the Governor is being disingenuous when he says he’s become frustrated by our lack of responsiveness. My team and I have been waiting for several weeks for the Governor and his team to respond to the tentative labor agreements and for an offer of tangible financial and operation assistance.

I never asked for a consent agreement. But we’ve provided the Governor with an action plan to resolve our financial shortfall, which we believe is reasonable and achievable with support from Lansing. This proposed agreement will not solve our problems.

The question is: with Mayor Bing adamantly opposed to this consent decree, what will happen next?